Another Meeting
by The Nervous Rambler
Summary: AU. A/B. 'Another meeting. Another scenario. Another life.' R&R!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything familiar.**

**Rated: T.**

**Author: The Nervous Rambler.**

**Summary: AU. A/B. 'Another meeting. Another scenario. Another life.' R&R!**

_Seattle_

"How many do we have?" Victoria asked.

Bella looked up from her lap, turning her head to look at the girl sitting beside her. Victoria was the first one Bella had ever seen. Wild red hair that danced in the wind like flame, skin so pale it almost looked porcelain; completely unmarked and blemish free, ruby red eyes and elongated canines that were in a constant feral grin. She had been so beautiful it was almost painful to look at her.

It was different now though. Now that Bella herself was one, and she was constantly around the newborn army they were creating, the wow factor of their beauty had worn off. Now the only thing it did for Bella was amuse her when she ran into humans on the street. Their reactions were entertaining and she often wondered if that was how she looked when Victoria found her.

But then she would remember the rest of that night and she would think of something else to keep from exploding. To keep from marching down to the abandoned warehouse, searching through the riled up newborns, finding her ex fiancé in the crowd and ripping him apart. She could still remember the moment she _actually_ died. Before Victoria even laid a finger on her. The moment he uttered those words.

"_No! N-no please! Take her instead, I w-won't tell anyone. I haven't even seen your face well enough. I'll just walk away, I promise. Let me go!"_

It was right then that Bella felt herself die. Her fiancé, the love of her life, the man she was about to spend the rest of her life with, give everything to, had told Victoria to _take her instead_.

Bella shook her head, trying to escape her thoughts as she felt her own glowing red eyes turn shades darker from anger. Bella had always felt plain as a human, despite what everyone she knew told her. She just felt… average. Nothing special. Being what she was now helped boost the self confidence because looks were part of the predatory package. Her hair, that had been mahogany and dull, was longer, thicker, and different shades. Mahogany, chestnut, chocolate brown, natural red highlights in it. Her pale skin was now alabaster looking, and her light red lips now vibrant, plump, blood red.

Bella sighed, looking down at her hands, turning them over and examining them. "Including us, we're up to nineteen." She said indifferently.

Victoria nodded, pursing her lips. "Two more. We need to more, I think. How many do _they_ have?"

Thinking back to all the times she was sent to go spy on them, Bella counted in her head. Victoria sent her to do that job because of two reasons, three really; the first was that if she were caught, they would kill her and if Bella were caught they'd send her on her way telling her to not hunt in the area. The second was because Bella was fast, the fastest Victoria had ever come across, which was surprising because as a human she was a klutz and therefore did very little running. The last reason was the most important; Bella was a shield, so the mind reader and empath wouldn't be able to feel or hear her, that added to the fact that Bella could also shield her scent from others, which came in handy when hunting others like herself –like the newborns who run off- made it so that as long as she stayed out of sight and was silent, they wouldn't detect her and she could get up close.

"Including the wolves," She said, glancing at Victoria with a face. The wolves stunk and Bella wasn't looking forward to fighting them because of it. "They've got fifteen. We'll out number them just like you wanted."

Victoria nodded again. "Good." She didn't care how many of them it took; she'd risk them all and let them die, just as long as she got her hands on the boy's human girlfriend.

"I don't actually think they're mates." Bella mused, laying back on the roof top the two were sitting on and let her legs dangle off the edge.

Victoria sneered. "That doesn't matter. She means a great deal to him and his coven. That makes her dead in my books, understood?" She snapped.

Bella raised her hands up with a shrug. "Yeah, I get it. I was just saying is all." She continued to swing her feet side to side, bored out of her mind. "When I went with Riley to pick up this last couple we brought back, I decided to check up on them, just in case they had something new planned." She wrinkled her nose. "His scent… it doesn't smell right on her. It's all wrong."

"What's your point?" Victoria asked, wanting her to get down to it. She had plans to make and didn't have time to waste. They were attacking in three days.

Bella shrugged again, closing her ruby red eyes. "Nothing really. Just that those two are not meant for each other. It kind of sucks that she has to die for nothing." She didn't even have to open her eyes to know Victoria was frowning as a growl rumbled through the air. "Seriously, relax. I'm not having second thoughts or anything. I just think she's got a bum rap is all."

"You've been thinking a little _too_ much about this." Victoria said, getting to her feet. "You're delving too far into it and becoming too interested by the girl lately. All that matters is that they all need to die and _your_ job is to grab the girl while I distract Eddie boy." With that, she stepped off the edge of the building.

Bella sighed, sitting up. "I know my job; you've been drilling it into my head since the minute I woke up." She muttered, sliding off the edge as well.

Bella landed seven stories below in a crouch, thin cracks streaking out away from each of her feet. She straightened up and turned on her heel, pushing open the metal door of the abandoned warehouse. The newborns were being kept in the basement of it so any noise they _did_ make would be muffled by the earth and cement.

Bella dusted off her long black coat, tempted to do up the buttons, but she knew if she did and got into a scuffle, they'd be ripped off and she'd have to go find a _new_ coat. That was a hassle in itself. Besides, she liked how the coat went with this outfit. Black combat boots and jeans, a black blouse, a long red scarf that even wrapped around her neck once still reached down to her knees, and fingerless black gloves. She felt like she belonged in a book or something.

Skipping down the last few stairs and into the basement, she looked around at all the newborns, flashing them a bright smile. They were sitting in corners, standing around, growling at one another, or the older ones talking to others. There was one thing they all had in common though; they hated Bella. She was the only one, other than Victoria, who could come and go as she pleased. She didn't have to be baby sat by Riley or Victoria herself, because she had exceptional control. She could be trusted to go out in public and not get crazy, going on a blood rampage.

She stopped in front of a crate were a boy, not much older than herself, was sat. He had short brown hair, though it was long enough to hang in his eyes and had to be shook out of them every now and then. He was thicker rather than taller, and his red eyes always looked like jewels in his head because they held a certain sparkle in them. He also happened to be completely in love with Victoria, and Bella found that hilarious seeing as she couldn't stand him. "Riley, dear, sweet, Riley."

"What do you want?" He asked, looking up from his feet to Bella.

Bella frowned. "Aw, did Vikki yell at you again?"

A growl ripped from his throat but he didn't lash out at her. "What do you want?" He repeated, venom coating his words.

Bella beamed at him, twirling around. "I'd like to place an order for delivery please; two more newborns."

He sighed, hopping off the crate to his feet and gave a curt nod. "You coming with me or are you just going to go gallivanting off again?" He asked, walking to the stairs.

"Time will tell, my friend." She chimed.

The two blurred up the stairs of the warehouse, passing Victoria on the way, and stepped out into the cold, rainy day. They had been all over Seattle, all over everywhere except the direction heading to Forks. Victoria thought that it was too close and they should avoid it, not wanting to alert the Cullens to their presence so soon. At this point though, it was all they could do. They couldn't go back to an area in which they've already been in or even hunted in; it would make the humans much too suspicious. So, with little hesitation, the two set off in the direction of Forks and part of Seattle they were forbidden from.

They spent the entire day walking the streets, scanning the area, pointing at different people, yet they hadn't come across anyone Bella wanted to change yet. She declined old men, young teenagers, big men, small men, friendly women, nasty women, thieves, gang members, all kinds of people. The sun had set and they were running out of time, and Riley was running out of patience.

He couldn't take it when she turned down the last person he suggested. They were leaning against a building of some kind, possibly an apartment, and they saw a big, burly man, who they assumed was a biker from his attire, walking past them. Riley raised an eyebrow and nodded in the man's direction, waiting for Bella's response. She looked over the man, pursing her lips and furrowing her brows. Finally she shook her head.

That's when Riley snapped. "Why? What's wrong with _him_? We've been out here all day and there have been perfectly good suggestions I've tossed out there, and yet you've turned them all down. What could _possibly_ be wrong with this one?" He snarled.

Bella hesitated before meeting Riley's blazing eyes. "He has a wedding band. A family somewhere." She said. "I can't do that to them."

Riley faltered, the gears in his head turning as he looked over at the brunette. "_I_ had a family." He said quietly, trying to keep his temper in check.

Bella looked down at her feet. "Yes, I know. I was the one who changed you, and I was the one who sent your family the note saying you ran off to start a new life on your own."

It was quiet and motionless for two seconds until the brick wall cracked around Bella's shoulders as Riley slammed her up against it by her neck. _"What?"_ He hissed up at her.

"I'm sorry." She tried to say.

But Riley would have none of it. "Why me? Why spare everyone but me? What the _hell_ did I ever do to _you_, Bella?" He growled, tightening his grip around her neck. Spider web cracks appeared around his fingers on her neck.

Bella grimaced, her hands gripping his on her throat. Yes, she felt bad, and yes, she felt she deserved what he would do to her, but the vampire part of her disagreed. The vampire part wouldn't let her go down without a fight, and that's why she propped her feet up on the wall in case the need came for her to fight back. "Riley, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I was trying to save you." Riley snorted bitterly. "Really, I was. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time and I was out hunting homeless. I didn't know what I had done until it was too late, and the only thing I could think of to save you was to change you. I'm sorry."

Riley's eyes widened in disbelief. He could do nothing but stare up at Bella, his jaw slack, his eyes retaining some of their red. Slowly, he let Bella down to her feet and stepped back away from her. She changed him. _She_ changed him by _accident_. She was killing him and decided to change him to save him.

He couldn't comprehend what she had just said. Not really, at least. He needed time to think, to go over what she had said. It… it still didn't make any sense to him.

Bella, watching Riley back away from her, deep in thought, smiled nervously. "Well, I can see that's a little too much information to swallow whole. How about you go and head back to the warehouse; I can finish this up." She said, reaching out to pat his arm or shoulder. To do _something_ to comfort the boy.

He flinched back from her hand, nodding. "It has to be tonight; they need three days to change." He said quietly before blurring off.

"Well that could have gone better." Bella mumbled to herself.

She straightened her coat, smoothing out her shirt, and walked off in the opposite direction Riley had went. Bella could feel the guilt and shame of what she had done to him, what she had done to everyone, what she had become, but quickly shuffled it to the back of her head. It was always there, always had been, right from her first kill, but she learnt how to ignore it. This new Bella would not feel guilt or shame or _anything._ She couldn't have lasted this long if she had. She'd be dead, because that's just what happened to the old Bella. The old, caring, loving Bella. She was killed.

With her hands shoved into her pockets and a scowl on her face, she marched down the sidewalk, brushing past people as she went. She didn't even look up to see if any of them were worth changing to bring back with her, instead she focused her glare on her feet. She wasn't sure where said feet were carrying her, not that she cared too much at that point; she just had to keep moving, walking away, away from everyone and everything. She found it helped ignore her inner thoughts and feelings; it felt like she was walking away from those too.

So she was quite surprised when she stopped outside a fancy looking restaurant. It used to be her very favourite when she was human, on account of the great food, but also because it's name was so similar to her own. Bella hesitated only slightly before pushing open the glass door and walking over to the front desk, waiting to be sat.

The waitress led her to a booth in the very back, hidden away in the corner as requested, and left her with a menu. Bella glanced through it, feeling fuzzy human memories trying to resurface here and there. When the waitress came back, she ordered mushroom ravioli; the item just stuck out on the menu for her, and a glass of the most expensive whine, sending the girl on her way once more.

Then she sat, looking out at the restaurant, watching everyone enjoy their dinners. A few people glanced at her wearily, most likely their instincts much more attuned with them than others, while some just gawked at her eyes, whispering about teenagers and their obsessions with vampires, having to go out and buy red contacts. Bella tossed a smirk at the woman who had whispered that to her husband and the woman huffed, looking away like she was offended.

Perhaps Bella would change her…

A heartbeat skipping a beat before it's tempo picked up pace made Bella look up. That was fear. Every heart had a tempo for each emotion, and the one missing beat before the hammering of the heart in one's chest was fear. It was actually quite similar to the tempo of love, oddly enough. Bella's red gaze scanned the room, locking onto a pair of wide, electric blue eyes staring back at her. Ink black hair, spiked out in every direction surrounded the face, and the small features gave the girl a pixie look. This was the golden eyes' human. Bella knew that for a fact; she had been trailing the girl every few days to see if anything had changed, for the past month. Also, for an anti-social, emotionally awkward father, her dad had many pictures up around the house of her, Bella had seen the day she snuck in to retrieve the shirt Victoria had requested.

Deciding to have a little fun with the human, Bella leaned back in her booth, giving the girl a wink before the waitress brought the mushroom ravioli and wine to her table. She suddenly wished she had ordered a steak, extra rare. _That_ would have definitely got a reaction out of the human. This only seemed to make her curious, ignoring whatever the human's friends said to her.

Bella, unable to quench her own curiosity, stabbed the silver fork through a piece of ravioli and brought it up in front of her face. She examined it with narrowed eyes, crinkling her nose at the stench. Oh how she used to love the smell of food. With a shrug, she popped the ravioli into her mouth and started chewing, much to the surprise of the human girl across the room.

Only to grimace and spit it into her napkin as she wiped her mouth. "Vile." She murmured under her breath with a glare to the plate in front of her. How could anyone stand that? It tasted like dirt and ash. It was disgusting!

Amidst all her face making and name calling of the food in front of her, the human's friends got up from the table, telling the girl they'd be right back after quickly running down to an accessories store. Bella watched curiously as the human nodded, waving them off, and a few minutes later got up herself, leaving the bill and money on the table. Bella shook her head; humans and their need to constantly be moving…

But something else caught her eye; a man sitting in the corner opposite of her, eyeing the human girl. He too was dressed in a long coat, though his was beige, and the pocket was concealing, poorly, his weapon. "You've got to be kidding me." Bella mumbled, watching the man get up and follow the human girl out of the restaurant.

No freaking way. The girl was going to get killed by another human, not three days before the damn war.

Knowing that Victoria would flip out and probably go on a rampage killing everyone in sight, Bella, too, got to her feet. She had no money with her, and quickly walked to the washrooms in the back of the building. She made sure no one was inside before blurring over to the window, inspecting it. The thing was 'conveniently' jammed, probably in an attempt to prevent this very scenario, but with a flick of her wrist, Bella got the window open.

She quickly climbed through the window and waltzed back down to the entrance of the alley, looking down both ways the sidewalk went. No one was there. Growling under her breath, she sniffed the air, catching the vanilla and chocolate scent of the human girl a little ways down to the left. She quickly followed it, coming to the opening of another alley.

How cliché.

And just like in any movie ever made, the man had the human girl up at gunpoint behind the dumpster. He was a scraggly man, with a beard that still had food in it, and bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in days. He smelled of bodily waste and alcohol, and was swaying on his feet already. Drunk.

The human girl, whose heart was beating a mile a minute once more, was handing him her purse with trembling hands. Bella snorted, blurring up to her side and lowered the human's arm back to her side with her purse still. "Don't do that."

"Hey!" The man growled, turning his gun on her.

Bella inspected the end closely that was pointed in her face with disinterest. "I wouldn't do that." She commented quietly, feeling the human girl's eyes studying her. It made Bella feel a little self conscious. The girl _lived_ with vampires, for crying out loud - what was she staring at? Bella thought she looked just like all the others.

The man burped, blinking furiously to concentrate on the pale form. "I don't think you understand how this goes, girly whirly. _I've_ got the gun. If I shoot you; you're dead."

Bella crinkled her nose at the onslaught of alcohol wafted in her face from his breath. "No." She replied simply. "If you shoot me; I'll get mad and have to kill _you_."

The man faltered, and Bella thought perhaps there _was _a brain in that lump head of his. Well, until he turned the gun back on the human. "And if I kill her?" He giggled, like this was some kind of game.

The girl tensed, moving closer to Bella. The corner of Bella's mouth curved up. If this man wanted a game, she would give him a game. "You wouldn't get the chance."

The gun went off and a pale blur shot out in front of the human girl's face who had screamed and jolted backwards. The man, with wide eyes, looked at Bella's hand and the bullet lying in it. "How did you-"

Again, Bella's hand shot out, and the gun was in pieces on the ground and in her other hand. She leaned in close to the man. "This is the part where somewhere in that dumb ass body of yours, your instincts start telling you that _I'm_ the predator here and _you're_ the prey." The man's heartbeat picked up, and was going so fast Bella thought for sure it would jump out of his chest. "And now is the time where you start running for your sorry life."

Quicker than Bella would have guessed, the man took off down the alley, managing to not stumble the entire way.

Warm arms wrapped around Bella. "Thank you so much. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, and Edward and the others are out hunting tonight, so I knew none of them could have saved me this time. Thank you!" The human girl gushed.

Bella made a face, disentangling herself from the human and stepped back. "Right, um, you're welcome." Again, there was that flutter of guilt, knowing she'd be the death of this girl in just three days. "But you really shouldn't be thanking me."

The human girl shook her head. "Yes, I should! You just saved my life! Thank you." She furrowed her brows. "You know, Edward is always saying how he's a monster and all vampires are monsters, but every single one I've met is always saving me. Well, not _every_ single one. There was one, his name was James-" Bella listened to the rambling girl who still looked terrified out of her wits, and deduced that all of this rambling was because her mind was still racing. Her heart, too, was racing and she even seemed to be trembling. The girl probably couldn't stop talking if she wanted to at this point. But something was different about how this story was told. Victoria had told Bella, and all the others, that these 'Cullens' had killed James because of a game. To entertain the human girl. But now this girl was saying that he was hunting her, and they were forced to kill him.

How peculiar.

Who was lying?

"You don't say much, do you?" The human girl giggled once she managed to stop the words spilling out of her mouth.

Bella focused on her again. "No."

The human girl grinned, sticking out her hand. "Well I'm Alice, by the way."

Bella hesitated, but grabbed the warm hand, her own brows furrowing at the tingly sensation. What was _that?_ "Bella." She muttered. She never noticed that before when touching humans. What _was_ that?

"You should come back to the Cullen's mansion, Bella. I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you, especially since you saved my life." Alice said, once again trying to stop the word vomit coming out of her mouth, but she just couldn't no matter how hard she tried. Her mind was still reeling over the fact that she could have just died from that man, and also over the fact that this vampire had saved her. A _human_ drinking vampire.

Bella shook her head. "I can't. I… I've got previous engagements. But perhaps you could text your friends and tell them that your… Edward, picked you up from the restaurant? I don't think you should be out here by yourself."

Alice nodded slowly, texting Angela. When she was done, she looked back up at Bella who seemed frustrated and deep in thought. "Okay." She said quietly.

Bella gave a nod, shaking her head clear of her thoughts, and in a blur, Alice was on her back. "Hold on tight." Bella said before taking off.

Alice gasped, gripping to Bella tighter, and started giggling. Sure, Edward was fast. The fastest of all the Cullens. But Bella was much faster, and she seemed to glide over the ground. It wasn't such a rough ride with her.

Bella tried to fight back the smile, but hearing the girl giggling, and just running in general made her happy. She grabbed hold of the legs around her waist and picked up speed even more, listening to the giggles turning into full out laughing. She closed her vibrant red eyes, listening to the sound of the tinkling laughter bouncing off everything around them in order to keep track of where she was and everything else was as well so she wouldn't run into anything. Taking a deep breath, she picked up a faint trace of vampire, and knew that any other vampires around here would be the Cullens.

The trees of the forest whizzed by the two as they became little more than a blur. Bella ducked under low branches, hopped over small streams of water. The only time Alice was ever deterred was when Bella would swing from a branch like it was a monkey bar on the play ground. The forest had to be that for vampires, she realized, a play ground. At least, it was for Bella, and Emmett while they played baseball that one time.

The scent of vampire became stronger and in just a few short minutes, Bella came to a halt in the tree line surrounding the Cullen's yard. "Here you are." She said, lowering Alice to the ground.

Alice frowned, walking around to beside Bella as she looked up at the taller vampire. "You're sure you don't want to wait for the Cullens to return?"

Bella gave a curt nod. "As it is, I don't think they would… appreciate my company." Not if they found out what she was to do in just a few short days.

"Alright." Alice nodded. There was something about this vampire in front of her… she couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that she didn't want her to leave. "Thanks again for saving me."

Bella looked to the ground, biting her lip. "You really shouldn't be thanking me." She murmured. The guilt was getting harder and harder to ignore the longer she was around this human girl. "Good bye." She said, offering Alice a brief smile before dashing back off through the trees.

She had to quickly find two more suitable newborns for Victoria and the sun was nearly up.

**~0~0~0~**

I don't think I can do this.

That had been the one thought running through Bella's mind for the past three days.

After randomly grabbing two people off the street on her way back, Bella gave them to Victoria to change. She felt… wrong, after the encounter with the human. Something was different, and she just wouldn't change the humans. Instead she took to the roof top, sitting up back against the vents in the middle of the roof where no one could see her from the ground. The next day, Bella still couldn't even bring herself to go hunt. The burn in the back of her neck had gone from bothersome to painful, yet the very thought of hunting made her cringe. She spent the day trying to force herself to get off that roof to go find sustenance, but hadn't made any progress.

The third day wasn't any better. The newborns, or rather soon to be newborns, still had roughly fourteen hours until they woke up, and the following day they would be attacking. While everyone else was in the basement of the warehouse, or out hunting in groups, Bella still sat in the same place as the previous two days. Nevermind not changing anyone, or even not hunting, this was so much worse. Bella didn't think she could go and fight. Go and fight and grab Alice, and execute the rest of Victoria's plan. She couldn't do it… not at all… she couldn't hurt Alice. Not after the weird tingles, or the fact that… Edward wasn't even her real mate, or that she might be the victim in all this and James was killed for a perfectly valid reason.

She couldn't do this.

Bella heard Victoria's footsteps quickly approaching her. Her ebony eyes didn't even blink, and continued to stare up at the rising sun that was bathing her in warmth, sparkling the thousands of diamonds in her skin. She felt like a disco ball.

Victoria, who was giddy that the day of the attack had finally arrived, skipped over to Bella. "Perfect day for a war, don't you think?" She asked, sitting down beside Bella. "We're about ready; Riley's just gathering everyone up, getting them in the mood, so to speak."

Victoria looked different like this. As Bella looked sideways at the redhead, she realized this was the first time she had ever seen Victoria smiled. She looked…normal… nice even. Well, if you ignored the crazed crimson eyes, that is. Bella sighed, looking down to her lap. "Victoria, I don't think…"

"What?" Victoria asked when Bella trailed off, her smile dimming. "What?" She demanded.

Bella shook her head. "I just don't think many of the others will make it out alive. That's all." She said, getting to her feet and offering Victoria her hand.

Victoria grinned at Bella as she got to her feet. "Highly doubtful. I suspect it will be just you and me surviving this thing. The others are all pawns, and as such, were only meant to take out _their_ pawns."

"What about Riley?" Bella asked, walking with Victoria to the back edge of the building.

"What about him? He was the first pawn." Victoria answered with a shrug.

Bella bit her lip, looking back up at the top of the building as Victoria opened the back door of the warehouse. "And my f… ex-fiance?" She asked.

Riley started leading the newborns into the trees behind the warehouse, nothing but a blur. Victoria and Bella stood by the doors, watching them go. With luck, they wouldn't wander off on their way to the clearing where this was all going down. Victoria grabbed the pouch hanging around her neck that Bella just noticed, tossing it to the brunette who caught it with a raised eyebrow. "A gift for all your loyalty, my friend."

The scent of smoke and ash wafted up from the pouch in Bella's hands and her eyes widened. What was she saying…? Did she…? Was he really…? Bella felt like getting sick. Sure, she had pictured killing him herself over the months, but she would never actually do it. He _was_ her fiance! She _had_ loved him once, and she would never really want him hurt or killed. She wasn't a monster.

Bella forced the corners of her mouth to curve up in a grin as Victoria waited expectantly for her reaction. "Thanks." She said, hoping Victoria didn't catch her voice cracking slightly. "Saves me… a lot of time." She finished, blurring off into the trees so the redhead couldn't see her face.

She heard Victoria laughing as she followed her, and furiously wiped at her eyes though she knew there were no tears. They weaved in and out of trees, following the scents of the newborns, and Bella mind flew back to a couple of nights ago. She could almost feel the warmth of the human on her back, and it helped ease some of the pain away. She held onto that for the rest of the journey to the clearing.

Bella halted abruptly behind a tree, gripping Victoria's shoulder as the redhead blurred beside her, holding her steady from her momentum. The two peered around the tree, Bella's eyes growing wide while Victoria smirked.

Wolves were growling and snarling and barking as they ripped into newborns, bit them, trampled them. The golden eyed vampires were lethal blurs, racing around the clearing, taking on red eyed vampires on their way. A few fires were going here and there, with black and purple columns of smoke rising into the air. There was screaming and yelling and the sound of rocks colliding and metal ripping as all the creatures in the clearing tore into one another. Blood from the wolves were in various places, smearing on various things and people, while venom from vampires could also be seen.

Bella could hardly stomach it and pressed her back against the trunk of the tree again, squeezing her eyes shut.

"A queazy vampire? Honestly Bella, if you weren't as good as you are; I'd have probably disposed of you long ago." Victoria laughed, tugging on the girl's coat.

The redhead led Bella around the clearing, past all the fighting and screaming and snarling, to the side of a cliff. There the two started scaling it, careful to be silent. Bella pushed her shield to cover Victoria as well, knowing the mind reader and the human were up here. There was also the stench of wolf as well, and Bella crinkled her nose. Just before they reached the top, Victoria stopped Bella and crept over the side.

She could see the tent where the human had slept during the night, but there was no sign of the girl or the vampire-

Edward tackled Victoria to the ground, snarling down at her. "You couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you?" He growled, bringing his fist down towards her face.

Victoria rolled the two over, cupping her own fists and smashed them down on Edward's chest. "I still have the life to collect for James!" She wailed, punching him in the side.

Bella's ebony eyes peeked over the cliff's edge, taking in the fighting vampires with little interest. She looked around the trees and tent on top of this cliff, listening for a heartbeat. She heard two off in the distance to the right; not too far away, but enough that they wouldn't get caught in this little fight. Bella hoisted herself up over the edge, winking at Edward's shocked golden eyes. He charged at her, but Victoria caught him in her grips, tossing him away and lunged at him again. Bella skipped through the trees, following the heartbeats. If she could keep this all business like, forget _who_ these people were and who she was, then maybe she could do this. She took everything, all her thoughts, all her feelings, all her memories, and shoved them all to the very far reaches of her mind; focusing only on her vampire instincts.

She twirled around the wolf that launched itself at her, baring her teeth at it with a hiss. It charged again, getting her, but she propped her feet up on it's large, russet furred chest, and kicked it off. She turned in time to knock it's head off to the side once more as it came at her, and this time tackled it herself, wrapping her hands around it's neck. She glared down at it with black eyes and it glared right back with brown ones as it struggled beneath her, kicking at the earth to try and right itself onto it's feet again.

Bella faltered, her snarl and glare slowly fading. _She_ used to have brown eyes…

The wolf managed to shake free enough to get it's jaw locked around her arm and she cried out, hissing at it. She brought her opened palm down on the side of it's head hard enough to make it slump to the ground. She waited for the rise and fall of it's chest and then slowly got off the unconscious dog, wiping the fur and hair off her clothes.

The vampire took off again into the trees, tracking down the other heart beat.

Edward snarled as he slammed down against the ground with Victoria's foot on his chest. "James was trying to kill her! What would you have done if the roles were reversed!" He cried, grabbing the foot and twisting it so he could jump to his feet. "I had no choice!"

Victoria grinned still and threw herself at him again.

The leaves in the tree Alice was facing shook and she braced herself for a crazed, blood thirsty Victoria to pounce at her. Instead, she was shocked to see Bella drop out of the tree casually. "B-Bella?"

The vampire stiffened, her black eyes locking onto the pair of terrified blue ones. Her lip curled up over her fangs as she growled.

Alice felt her chest tighten and she stepped back. "Bella, what are you doing here?"

In a blur, Alice was up against a tree while Bella gripped her shirt, suspending her up against it. "I thought it was pretty obvious." She growled, her mouth curving into a feral grin. "I'm here to kill you."

Alice sputtered. "But… but you just saved me! Just the other night! I don't understand!" She cried, feeling more upset than scared at the moment. "_Why_ would you save me if you were just going to kill me?"

Bella's grin felt strained. "I have to. _Had_ to… No, I _have_ to kill you…" She furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry."

Alice looked up to see if she could spot Jacob and tried to deny what she thought when she couldn't find him, or Edward for that matter. "Please, Bella."

The small, delicate warm hand gripped Bella's cold, stone one and the vampire once again faltered. Bella bit her lip, all the guilt and shame flooding her at once, the onslaught of memories and feelings filling her head.

Alice fell as the vampire's grip loosened and she looked up with wide eyes. "Bella…?"

"We have to get you out of here." Bella said, grabbing the human's hand and turned around to go the way she came.

Edward was tossed to the ground a good ten feet away from the two; slumped, battered, and beaten. His hair was a mess with mud and leaves in it, his clothes ripped and dirty, spiderweb cracks were all over his body and face, and he seemed to be missing a few fingers. Victoria gripped the hair at the back of his head, wrenching his face up to look at the two on the other side. "I see you've got yours as well, Bella." She sang.

Alice looked between the two, trembling and trying to figure out what to do. Bella, who had looked upset and apologetic before, now had a stone mask on. She ushered Alice in front of her, gripping her neck and Alice froze until she felt how light the grip was. It only looked liked she was being held still, but Bella was actually barely touching her. "Yes, and you yours." Bella replied. Her mind was racing on how to get Alice out of this alive, and if possible, the golden eyed vampire as well. "What's the next move, Victoria?"

"Kill her." She replied simply.

Edward jerked, hissing. "Don't you _dare_! Let her go or I'll-"

Victoria tightened her hold and Edward grimaced. "Or you'll what?" She asked, clearly quite amused.

But Edward wasn't even paying attention to her; he was staring at the two across the space from him with wide, astonished eyes. "No…" He whispered, furrowing his brows. "That can't be…It's… No!" He growled, snarling furiously as his eyes darkened. "You're a _human_ drinker! You can't be hers!"

"What?" Bella asked as the two girls raised their eyebrows at him. The boy wasn't making any sense.

"Bella." Victoria said slowly, trying to gain her attention as the wind blew against her and Edward, carrying a unique scent. She realized just what Edward had and needed to fix this before Bella realized it as well. "Switch with me, Bella. Quickly; give me the girl and finish Edward off." She said, reaching one hand up towards them. "Come on."

"Don't!" Edward spat, his nostrils flaring. "You can't! She's your-"

Victoria's hand covered his mouth as she hissed down at him, kneeing him in the kidney. "Give me the human!" She growled at the other vampire whose mind was racing.

Bella looked down at Alice, leaning in to sniff her shoulder. She reeled back like she had been electrocuted, with wide ebony eyes. "What?" She gasped.

With a snarl, Victoria launched herself at Bella and the human, tossing Edward back a dozen yards. There was no more denying it or trying to hide it; the scent was filling up the woods surrounding them. Alice's mixing with Bella's in a way that no other could; creating a new and unique smell. Bella, too, snarled and stepped around Alice, catching Victoria and hurling her off into the trees. She charged the redhead, tackling her farther away. "Run, Alice!" She yelled, grabbing Victoria's fist and twisting it.

Alice hesitated, not wanting to leave Bella here to fight Victoria alone, but raced off moments later. If she could find Jacob or Edward, or anyone else for that matter; _they_ could actually help Bella. Her blue eyes caught movement a little ways ahead; Edward picking himself back up and wiggling his fingers that were now reattached. She sprinted over to him, clutching at his arm. "_Edward!_" She gasped. "You have to go help Bella! Hurry!"

Seemingly not aware that she had even spoke, Edward swung Alice onto his back and started racing down the mountain with her to find the others. He couldn't fight Victoria alone, and he still wasn't sure where the other red eyed vampire stood, and Jacob was nowhere to be found. "I knew I couldn't count on the damn mutt." He growled under his breath as he blurred passed trees.

Alice was shaking his shoulder, furiously trying to gain his attention. "Stop! Edward, go back! You have to help her!" She shrieked.

Rosalie looked up at all the yelling, turning her back to the pillar of purple and black smoke. Most of the newborns, save for two or three, had been killed and the wolves had chased the remaining ones into the woods shortly after Jacob had run down there, looking for Alice. The Cullens were regrouping and resting to heal, while also keeping an eye on the one vampire, Bree, who had surrendered. "What's going on?" She asked, taking in both of them looking scuffled up.

"Victoria." Edward said, setting Alice on her feet. "Her and another snuck up on us. They're up there still, we just managed to get away… How _did_ you get away?" He asked, looking down at Alice.

"Bella!" She yelled, red in the face. "We need to go back for her! Victoria is going to kill her!"

"Who?" Jasper asked, trying to calm the frantic girl.

"The other one?" Edward asked, confused. Wasn't she with Victoria? Hasn't she just been about to _kill_ Alice?

Alice nodded, looking to the others. "She's the one I told you about! The one who saved me before, who you said was in my room. She's fighting Victoria and told me to run!" She replied.

Everyone jumped as the sound of craters colliding echoed throughout the clearing they were in, looking to the far side be the cliff's side. Pale hands gripped the edge of the large hole, that also _looked_ like a crater made, and the Cullens watched as the brunette pulled herself from there. She rolled over and got to her feet, rolling her shoulders and grimacing as she heard cracking. "That freaking hurt." She commented, shaking the mud from her coat but gave up and shrugged out of it. Her scarf was wrecked as well and she pulled what remained of it off, tossing it to the ground, and straightened out her ripped and torn and dirtied shirt and pants.

"Bella, I take it?" Carlisle asked as she approached them. Bella nodded, rubbing her side that still had cracks in it. "And Victoria is…?"

"Gone." She sighed. "She kicked me off the side of the cliff and took off in the opposite direction. There was nothing more I could do."

Carlisle waved it off, patting her shoulder. "You're done plenty, and we thank you. Had you not done what you have, who knows what could have happened up there."

"Hold on," Emmett said, cocking his head to the side and sniffed the air. "You smell that?"

Esme frowned sadly at Edward. "I'm sorry." She said.

"It's fine. We knew it would happen eventually." He said, trying to dodge the subject for now.

"I believe you missed one, Cullens." Jane Volturi's voice rang out and everyone turned to see that she and three other Volturi members stood in the tree lines, Victoria at their feet growling and glaring. Jane's eyes landed on Bree and then Bella. "You've missed three? It's lucky we arrived when we did."

Alice didn't like the sound of that, nor the way the Jane and Alec were looking at Bella. She stepped closer to the vampire.

"Do you see what I see, Alec?" Jane asked as she walked over to the Cullens with the others trailing behind her.

"I do." Alec replied, looking at Bella curiously. "Aro will be most pleased we found a proper shield."

Jane nodded, glancing at the human. "One who can project her shield without having to touch anyone else. What is you name, newborn?"

Bella could feel multiple people trying to get past her shield; could feel them poking and prodding, searching for a way in, though she knew they would find none. No one had been able to yet, and she was confident that no one would be able to ever. "Whose asking?"

"The Volturi." Jane said, her smile and pleasant voice gone. "And you'd be wise to show some respect."

Bella puffed up her chest, refusing to back down from this girl in front of Alice. "And you'd be wise to earn my respect." She said, rather immaturely.

Jane growled, taking a step forward. "Hold on." Carlisle said, stepping in front of everyone. "We apologize for Bella. She's still a newborn and doesn't yet know who the Volturi are. We will teach her though, don't worry. Along with Bree here. And we thank you for catching Victoria." He said, glancing at Jasper who sent out a wave of calm.

Jane huffed. "Fine." She said, getting down to business; not wanting to be here any longer. "We're taking the redhead with us because of her unique gift. We will tell Aro of the new members to your coven, and remind and warn you for a final time; _change_ the human or we will take matters into our own hands."

Carlisle nodded furiously. "Yes, of course. Send my thanks to Aro." He said.

Jane sneered at Bella one last time before turning around, blurring back into the trees with the others.

The clearing remained quiet for a few minutes as everyone glanced around at each other. Esme cleared her throat. "All right; we should head back and get cleaned up, and try to relax. Bree, Jasper will take you to hunt, and you as well, Bella-"

"I'm fine." Bella replied, too curious and apprehensive to go hunting now. She smiled apologetically at Esme after interrupting her. "Sorry; I've just got so many questions."

"Understandable." Carlisle replied. "I would be happy to answer all of them back at the house once you're settled in."

Bella's eyes widened. "Pardon?"

"You're staying, are you not?" Carlisle asked, glancing at Alice and then back to Bella.

Bella knew that if she were human; she would be blushing. "Oh, uh, yes. Thank you." She mumbled, ignoring the large vampire laughing at her as she began to follow them back. She watched as Edward sighed, blurring off ahead of everyone else and then turned to Alice. "Care for a lift?"

"Thank you." Alice replied, chewing her lip. She was worried about Edward who wouldn't even look at her before he just left like that.

Bella followed the Cullens through the trees back to the large house, learning their names on the way. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Alice, and now Bree. She had one question she knew couldn't wait till after she settled in. "Why are your eyes gold?"

Esme looked surprised. "Didn't Victoria tell you we don't hunt humans?"

It was Bella's turn to look surprised. "What? How? What _do_ you hunt?" She asked, letting Alice down as they stepped into the Cullen's yard.

"Animals." Emmett replied with a shrug.

"Animals?" Bella echoed, furrowing her brows.

Carlisle smiled. "This will all take a while to get used to, though I'm sure you'll catch on quick. But I believe you and Alice should have a talk before anything else." He said.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "About what?" She asked, looking to Bella.

"Uhh." Bella scratched the back of her neck, looking to the others.

"Last room on the third floor." Esme said, nodding to the house.

Bella smiled gratefully and blurred the two up to the room.

This would be the first of many, many conversations between the two to come.

**~0~0~0~**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated.**

_**-The Nervous Rambler**_


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